Origins Of Horse Racing

Horse racing has been a sport that has endured time and time again. It is probably one of the olds sports known to man and has even predated many religions that are even present today.

Horse racing is one of the most organized sport that can be found all over the world. World history shows that horses were part of the old sports events that date as far as 639BC.

The actual origins of horse racing can be traced in the 12th century when special dark horses of Arab descent was mated with European stock horses. What the result was the offspring had a strong body frame and very fast running speeds. It was in this time that modern horse racing began.

In the 16th century race courses were a common sight in England and a few years later on the famous Jockey Club was set up. The small club then established rules and regulations that most establishments and races use to this day. Horses then came to the shores of the United States along with the British in the 1600s and Long Island saw the first race track.

Among all the popular types of horse racing now, the thoroughbred racing is the most in demand sport. It features a horse that is mounted by a rider (or jockey) and the animal is raced over a near mile course. Harness racing is similar to thoroughbred racing but the sport uses a variation of a carriage with a mounted driver. The horse then runs the whole course while non-thoroughbred in its own race is allowed to race as a trotter and cannot run or gallop in harness racing.

The speeds of the thoroughbred can reach an easy 35 miles per hour, and the normal version can move at a much less speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour. Quarter horse racing is also a popular sport for the horses race a much shorter length of track - usually a quarter mile only.

Each country has its own variant style of racing and they usually revolve around the distances and type of event held. Most horses follow a set criteria and most race authorities are quite strict about this.

There are similarities in the races and usually they have different terms for the races. In the US, races that take place on flat dirt or flat surfaces is called thoroughbred racing while in other countries like the UK it is called flat racing.

The races that are held in other countries normally have a difference ratio of the type of track used because the countries have different racetrack designs. It has been known for horses new on the track to falter in the first race but then run better in the next.